Erinbubble92's The Tail King 1 and a Half
by Bubble Toon 7
Summary: This is a story about Sonic and Knuckles on their own adventure about what happen before The Tail King.
1. Chapter 1: Sonic and Knuckles

**The Tail King 1 and a Half**

Sounds of morning on the savannah. A lion roars in the distance. Sunrise over the Cartoon Kingdom, exactly as my first story. People and animals raise their heads as the sun rises, preparing to march to Toon Castle.

MS: _**Nants ingonyama bagithi baba**_

BS: _**Sithi uhhmm ingonyama**_

MS:_** Ingonyama  
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba**_

Sonic: (simultaneously, imitating the singer): _**Whaaaat's on the menu? **_

_**It could be ceviche, it's stinky—ooh, it's Knuckles…aah**_

"I gotta tell you, Sonic…that song always gets me right here," said Knuckles from the off-screen.

"Yeah, Knuckles," Sonic pauses the movie, "Well enough about," he holds up a remote control and begins fast-forwarding through the movie. We now see Sonic and Knuckles in silhouette in a row of theater seats, Mystery Science Theater 3000-style.

"Uh, Sonic, what are you doing?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm fast-forwarding to the part where we come in!" Sonic replied.

"But you can't go out of order!" Knuckles said in aghast because he didn't like when Sonic is fast-forwarding to the part of the movie.

"Au contraire, my echidna pal. _I've_ got the remote!" Sonic smirked.

"But everyone's gonna get confused!" Knuckles grabs a second, bigger remote, "We gotta go back to the beginning of the story." He begins rewinding the movie.

"We're not _in_ the beginning of the story!" Sonic snapped as he pauses the movie on Wilt holding up Tails, with a screech; the movie begins fast-forwarding again.

"Yes, we were—the whole time!" Knuckles snapped rewinds; the film reverses on a shot of Sonic looking in bewilderment at Tails and Erin's reunion, with a squawk of confusion.

"But _they_ don't know that!" Sonic said, mentioning the audience switches the movie direction again, on Erin pinning Tails.

"Then why don't we tell them _our_ story?" Knuckles asked, until he paused the movie on a snarling close-up of the three villains; Sonic and Knuckles both shriek and dive under their seats.

"Hey, I have an idea," Sonic said as he slowly-emerge from his seat, along with the others, "Why don't we tell them _our_ story?"

"Oh—I like the sound of that," Knuckles nodded.

"A little backstage tour. Take 'em behind the scenes for a revealing and intimate look at the story within the story," Sonic explained.

"'Cause what _they_ don't know is how we really _were_ there even though they didn't _know_ we were there, y'know?" Knuckles asked.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Sonic began to rewind the movie.

"So does this mean we're going back to the beginning?" Knuckles asked.

"Oh, no, Knuckles," Sonic replied, melodramatically, "No, we're going way back…to _before_ the beginning."

The sunrise plays backwards, looking like a sunset; the screen goes black along with African drumbeats; the title "The Tail King" crashes onto the screen, followed by a 2, then a 1, then another 1, followed by a diagonal line which forms the crooked "1 1/2" logo. Cracks appear across the screen image, and the black screen shatters and falls from the field of view in fragments, leaving a view of Toon Castle in daylight.


	2. Chapter 2: Digga Tunnah

**Chapter 2**

**Digga Tunnah**

At daytime, we now see the Toon Castle as Knuckles spoke in reverently, "Toon Castle."

"So majestic," said Sonic.

"So powerful," Knuckles added.

"So…bizarrely named," Sonic paused the movie, "Knuck, how can a cave be proud? It's a _cave_!"

"Well, I think a cave is where a group of cartoons live," Knuckles answered. Sonic rolled his eyes, "Oh, sure, the _toons_ get Toon Castle. And what about us hedgehogs? Where I come from we didn't have _nothin'_ to be proud of. Why…"

Sonic: _**When I was a young hedgehog**_

Knuckles: _**When he was a young hedgehog**_

That blew Sonic out of his seat. "Very nice," Sonic said, peevishly as he got back to his seat.

"Thanks!" Knuckles grinned.

"But maybe it'd be safer if I just show 'em where I came from,"

"Yay! Do we get to see where you grew up?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, Knuckles, but it ain't pretty," Sonic clicks the remote; the view of Toon Castle switches to a full-screen shot, "Please remain seated while the camera is in motion."

The camera does a super-high-speed truck-out from Toon Castle, past zebras, grasslands, the Cartoon Graveyard, the Gorge, marshlands, the desert, and finally stopping at a dry plain of low mounds of dirt, with a tumbleweed blowing across.

"Here we are: from Toon Castle to the pit of shame," Sonic continued, "We're so low on the food chain we're underground! But you don't have to take my word for it. I'll just let my fellow hedgehogs do the talking."

Background Chant: _**Semon pute**_

Hedgehogs: (_Chanting, nervously_) _**What was that!  
What was what! Shh!  
What was that!  
What was that!  
Where? What?  
Where? Where? Shh!  
What was that! Shh!  
Quick, before the villains come!**_

"Clear!" the guard hedgehog shouted and the others began to dig more tunnels, singing during their work.

_**Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah  
When you're done ya dig a bigga tunnah  
Digga tunnah,  
Dig, dig a tunnah  
Quick, before the hyena come!  
DIG!**_

BC: _**Semon pute**_

Hedgehogs: _**Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah  
You can dig and never get dunnah**_

BC: _**Semon pute**_

Hedgehogs: _**Digga tunnah, (Dig a little faster)  
Dig, digga tunnah  
What was that!**_

Silence as they look from side to side, listening.

_**Quick, before the Anti-Toon come!  
DIG!  
Digga tunnah is what we do  
Life's a tunnah we're diggin' through  
Digga tunnah is what we sing  
Digga tunnah is everything!  
Mud and clay is a fox's friend  
Always more around every bend  
And when you get to your tunnah's end  
Hallelujah! Let's dig again!  
DIG!  
Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah (Digga tunnah)  
When you're done ya dig a bigga tunnah.  
Digga tunnah, (Dig a little faster)  
dig dig a tunnah.  
What was that! **_

They pause to listen.

_**Quick, before the Anti-Toon come!  
DIG!**_

As they kept work, an adult female wearing a purple dress and tiara and has a yellow strand of hair came walking; this was Bernadette Hedgehog, Bernie for short, Sonic's mother.

"Sonic!" Bernie shouted. "Excuse me, have you seen my son? Has he been through here? Sonic!"

An old hedgehog wearing an armor, his name is Charles "Uncle Chuck" Hedgehog, chanting their song, "Digga tunnah, dig, digga tunnah... digga tunnah, dig, dig—Aaaah!" He screamed when Bernie poked him.

"Charles?" Bernie asked.

"Aaahh!" Chuck screamed.

"Uncle Chuck, relax," said Bernie, "Have you seen Sonic?"

"No, I haven't—and what a day it's been," Chuck replied, "No fractures, no lacerations, no concussions, contusions or injuries of any sort. As a matter of fact, there's no sign of Sonic's handiwork anywhere!" But boy was he wrong.

The ceiling cracks and then comes crashing down around them, light streaming in all around; finally there's nothing left of the tunnel but a ring of dirt held up on a narrow protrusion, with Sonic standing under it.

"That would be…_**SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" **_Chuck yelled, very angry. Chuck calls Sonic his full name, when he's in trouble.

"Heh, heh, heh," Sonic chuckled, very embarrassed, "Hey, everybody!"

"Ha ha. Nice work, Sonic," said the random fox.

"Way to go, tunnel klutz."

"Who else could break a hole?"

"Four in a week—a new record!"

"Not again," Bernie groaned as she sighed because her son kept screwing up.

"What?" Sonic asked, defiantly, "It's called a skylight!" The "skylight" crumbles to nothing.

"Ho ho. Wow! Isn't that creative," Bernie said, trying to salvage the situation, "A _skylight!_ Oh, ha ha, I'll just have a word with him," Bernie added and she lead Sonic away from the scene of the collapse.

"I... I was just trying to shed a little light on our pathetic existence," Sonic complained because he wants a little light.

"Sonic, this can't go on. Just this month, you've pulled down four walls and collapsed two tunnel exits," Bernie combs Sonic's hair, "We have to look after each other. Our survival depends on it."

"Mom, what's the point?" Sonic groaned, "All we do is dig so we can hide, and hide so we can dig," Bernie finishes combing his hair, which "poofs" up into a bunch of spikes, "I wanna be where we don't have to dig tunnels and live with our heads stuck in the sand," he pushes some grass apart and gazes out over the horizon, "What's so bad about dreaming of a better home?"

Bernie joins him at the gap in the grass, "I wanna show you something. Look, Sonic. Go on, look," Camera pulls back to a panoramic view of the Cartoon Kingdom in all their golden-lit majesty, as the "This Land" theme plays, "Look out to the horizon, past the trees, over the grasslands. Everything the light touches..." he said, sharply, "belongs to someone else!" A record needle scratches; the grasses snap back together and block the view.

"Funny. I thought you were going a whole different direction with this," said Sonic.

"What can I say? It's nature's design," Bernie chuckled. Chuck popped out of the grass, "She's right! We're food for other animals—a moveable feast. Feared by no one and eaten by all!"

"But when they die, they become the grass. And we eat the grass... right?" Sonic asked.

"Not exactly; we can't digest grass. We're grass intolerant," Chuck replied.

Bernie snatched Sonic away, "Ok, Uncle Chuck. _Thank_ you. You've been a big help," he said to Sonic, "Honey, I—"

Chuck appeared out of another stand of grass, "Hedgehogs…it's what's for dinner!"

"_Thank_ you, Uncle Chuck," Bernie said in increasingly sarcastic; pointing meaningfully off into the distance. Uncle Chuck groans and disappears.

"I think Uncle Chuck dislodged one too many rocks with his skull," said Sonic.

"But he's right, Sonic," Bernie tries to comb his hair again; a bug flies by, and she snatches it and squishes it into hair gel, "Oh, I just _know_ there's a way for you to fit in here." Sonic glowers from under his plastered-down hair; a single hair springs back up, and he sighs.

"All right, who's on sentry duty?" Charles asked the others, off-screen. Bernie perks up with inspiration; gasps, "That's it! That's it—my son on sentry duty! Sonic the sentry!" Later on, Uncle Chuck was being told of this idea, but he's in horrified shock, "Sonic the _sentry!_ Why don't you save the villains and cannibals the trouble and kill me now? Just kill me now!"

"He has a point," Sonic agreed.

"All you have to do is watch for hyenas and yell if you see one. Look at Iron Joe," said Uncle Chuck.

Iron Joe is in the middle of a nervous breakdown, "Don't close your eyes! Don't look away! Somebody's gotta guard us! Somebody's gotta protect us!" he breaks up in sobs as a couple of hedgehog orderlies carry him away, raving, from his post.

"Well. _Now_ I'm convinced," Sonic spoke.

"Listen—it's outside, up in the breeze, under the wide open sky—isn't that what you want?" Bernie talked to Chuck, "Or maybe you would rather have him go back on the digging crew."

"_**NO!"**_ every hedgehog and Chuck shouted. Later on, the entire colony of hedgehogs, listening intently, and now pretending nonchalance and clearing their throats.

"Good... then we all agree. Sonic, listen to Chuck. He'll teach you everything you need to know. And honey," Bernie said, earnestly, "Try to make this one work."


	3. Chapter 3: Sonic the Sentry

**Chapter 3**

**Sonic the Sentry**

That late after noon, Uncle Chuck and Sonic is outside as Chuck is demonstrating the duties of the sentry, "Scurry, sniff, flinch! Scurry, sniff, flinch," Sonic isn't impressed and rolled his eyes while Chuck continues, "Scurry, sniff, flinch! Good. Now...what do we do if we see a villain?"

"Scream 'Mommy?'" Sonic replied, unimpressed.

"That's right, mister! Because the world out there is fraught with danger. Fraught, I tell you!" said Chuck.

"Oh, boy. It's the Fraught Fest," Sonic said in a sarcastic manner.

Chuck ignored that and shouted in furiously pantomiming, "Even _all_ bloodthirsty villains are waiting to rip us limb from limb!"

"Bra-_vo_, Uncle Chuck. Way to sell it to the cheap seats," Sonic applauded sarcastically. Chuck said in Sonic's face, "Applaud now, sonny boy," he said quiet and severe, "But try clapping when you don't have any hands!" Chuck turns and leaves Sonic on sentry duty. Sonic gulps, looking at his hands. Then he takes up his position on the rock.

"Scurry, sniff, flinch. Scurry, sniff, flinch," marimbas begin; Sonic starts to get into it, "Huh... I like the sound of that. Scurry, sniff, flinch," he begins dancing more and more flamboyantly, "Scurry, sniff, flinch. Scurry, sniff, flinch. Scurry, sniff, flinch!"

Sonic: _**There's more to life than panic  
And bein' some other guy's snack—euugh**_

What he didn't know is that three bad guys pop up from behind a rock in the background, then disappear again.

_**I may be delicious, organic  
But this little entree's fightin' back!  
I'm gonna put diggin' tunnels behind me  
And live at a new altitude  
I'm gonna reach for the stars to remind me  
That hedgehog are not merely food!  
For once I'll be...**_

Sonic steps into the cloud and surfs into a fantasy waterfall setting.

_**Lookin' out for me... yeah!  
I'll tell you what I want  
This hedgehog is movin' on  
He's a bon vivant  
Who's missin' out on bon  
I'd be a bigger cheese  
Far from the desert scene  
A little cooling breeze  
A little patch of green!  
And I'll be snoozin' in my hammock by a rippling stream  
Many miles from any tunnel and the digging team  
Looking after number one will be my only creed  
That's all I need**_

He slurps up some bugs.

_**That's all I need**_

_**I've always been good at runnin' away  
Well, now I'm gonna run the show-ow  
I've always been seen as the ultimate prey  
But now my status ain't so quo!**_

The fantasy and the music dissolve as he improvises, unaware that the three villains have surrounded him, while Sonic is improvising.

_**A dream sublime...  
It's villain tiiime... oh!**_

Sonic heard some clapping, which is from Cree, Jack Spicer, and Pete.

"Oh, look its dinner and a show!" said Cree.

"And I thought beans were the only musical food," Jack added.

"Yeah," Pete smirked. Sonic stared at them, frozen in fear, "Ca…Ca…Ca…"

"Well, good Evening to you too," Cree smacks Sonic, who goes rolling down the hill, "Ayy! Ohh! Ow! Okay..."

"This is no time for horseplay, Sonic. You're supposed to be up there lookin' out for..." Chuck sees the bad guys as Cree turns her amor on, Jack held out his laser gun and Pete pund his fist, snickering, "The villains and the canibals!" The hedgehog all pop out in terror and screamed. The hedgehog colony runs around in a mad chaotic dash for cover.

"Whoa, look at 'em scramble," said Jack.

"And that's just how I like 'em," Cree added. A group of foxes, led by Chuckn, crash in a line right into Cree's face, "Scrambled," she slurps them, lifting Chuck into the air; the hedgehog are disgusted and the whole colony scramble about, "…And a little bit runny." The group of hedgehogs goes running by, followed by the laughing villains, passing Sonic who's standing there covering his head.

"Villains!" the hedgehog screamed. A hand reaches up and grabs Sonic; he strains to stay where he is, but gradually the hand manages to drag him head-first into a hole. It's his mother.

"Get in here! What are you, crazy?" Bernie asked. Pete guards a hole, and snaps at a bunch of hedgehog who jump into it one at a time; he misses all of them, but blocks the hole before Chuck can get in.

"Stumpy?" Bernie called.

"Here!"

"Flinchy?"

"Here!"

"Swiftly?"

"Here!"

"Oh, what a relief. Everybody's… Bernie gasps, "Where's Charles?" Uncle Chuck is outside, running for his life as the three villains pursue him, screaming for his life. Chuck makes desperately for a second tunnel entrance, where a bunch of hedgehog appear and gasp at the sight.

"Chuck! Run for your life!" the first hedgehog shouted.

"Play dead!"

"Ándale!"

"Almost there!"

The screen switches suddenly to the QVC shopping channel, where two women are selling a suede handbag, "Suede _is_ the look for this fall. Of course, that _is_ what's happening up in every magazine. What I like about it, other than you've got that long strap, which can clear your coat..." Sonic and Knuckles are back in the silhouetted theater seats.

"Hey, what's goin' on? Knuckles, you're sitting on the remote," said Sonic.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I thought it was a brownie," Knuckles chuckled. Sonic clicks the remote; we switch back to the scene of Chuck's impending demise.

"You've got it, Chuck!" another hedgehog shouted. Chuck is overtaken by the villains; the hedgehogs all shield their eyes as we hear crunching sounds. Switch to the inside of the burrow, where the hedgehog stand in shock; suddenly, Chuck drops from the ceiling, the fur bitten off his tail.

"Chuck! Is he alright?" the hedgehog asked.

"I flinched when I should've scurried," Chuck collapsed. Outside, the villains guffawing are walking off.

"Ha ha! Oh, man! It just never gets old, does it?" Jack asked.

"Ooh, the classics never do, honey," Cree replied. Back underground the hedgehogs glared angrily at Sonic as he stood in the middle.

"I, uh... I guess I owe everyone an apology," Sonic pauses, "All right, so I made a _teensy_ mistake. Like we all haven't broken into song on sentry duty before. Ha ha ha... come on. Let me have a show of hands," the hedgehog all wander off, disgusted; Sonic tries to change tactics, "Okay. ...Maybe it's a little too soon, but I'm sure we're all gonna laugh about this someday. Trust me." Chuck and all of the hedgehogs are all staring at him severely.

"I _did_ trust you," Chuck said, glaring at his nephew.

"But…" Sonic paused. The hedgehogs all silently file out, except for Bernie as Sonic sighed. That evening, Sonic is hunched; Bernie emerges from the hole and approaches him.

"Aw, son," said Bernie.

"I'm never gonna fit in here. Nobody even likes me," Sonic said, sadly.

"Sure they do, honey. Sure they do!" said Bernie.

"Besides you." Sonic said.

"Uh, besides us? Um, there's, uh...," Bernie tried to explain.

"I have to find my place; but it isn't here,"

"Yes it is. We just haven't found it yet. But we will..." Bernie combs Sonic's hair, "Oh, here's an idea. You can run a trail…"

Sonic got up, impatient, "Stop with the hair already. My place is out there, Mom. Oh, I may not know exactly where or how far, but I gotta go!"

"No, wait, wait, wait. I know. If we just..." Bernie desperate tries to explain the last idea.

"Mom…" Sonic looks at his mother, pointed. Bernie pauses, then acquiesces, "Well, we hope you find what you're looking for, son." Sonic smiled and comes back to embrace his mother.

"Ooh. Ooh, I love you. Mmm!" Bernie hugged Sonic.

"I love you Mom." said Sonic. His mother hugging him, tighter and tighter until we start to hear crunching sound effects.

"Oh Sonie. Our Sonie. Mmm-mmm..." Bernie kept hugging Sonic.

"Mom... choking... not breathing..." Sonic muffed, straining.

"Ooh. Mmm. Mmm-mmm."

Sonic stand aside, "And people wonder why I have issues." They finally broke the hug and Sonic begins to walk off.

"I'll be okay!" Sonic said reassuring.

"Oh, I know you will," Bernie said wistful, "You will." His mother slowly lets go of Sonic's hands. Sonic turns away, then begins striding purposefully away into the sunset.

"Be careful!" Bernie called.

"I will!" Sonic shouted, as he marches on a bit farther.

"Don't talk to strangers!"

"I know, Mom!" Sonic marches a bit more.

"Remember, wash behind your ears!"

Sonic turns impatiently, "Mom, I'm not a cub anymore!" he resumes marching.

"Never go swimming without a buddy!"

"Got it!"

"Send me a message!" Bernie's voice is still heard far away. Sonic groaned, "Oy!" Sonic turns back and shouts at the top of his lungs, "What?!"

"I said, send me a message!"

"What?!"

"I _said_, send me a…"

Sonic turns back to his path, waves her off, "Good-bye, Mom!" Sonic walks off to find a perfect place in his life.


	4. Chap4: Beyond What You See

**Chapter 4**

**Beyond What You See**

"And so, with high spirits I boldly ventured off where no hedgehog had _dared_ to go before. I put my past behind me, ha!" Sonic narrated, the movie shows Sonic moving on during the night, "And never looked back." But he was wrong Sonic stopped walking and breaks suddenly into sobbing.

"Mommy! Aah! Ha ha!" Sonic cried some more. Far shot of Sonic, revealing that he is standing next to Wilt's baobab tree, "What am I doing?" Sonic sobs; shot changes to a close-up, "Which way should I go?"

Suddenly, Wilt appeared upside-down, hanging from a tree, "That depends on what you seek."

Sonic does a wild take, goes sprawling. Cut back to the theater seats and silhouettes; Sonic pauses the movie, "How convenient. Enter omniscient monkey, right on cue."

"Well, you know what they say. When the student is ready, the teacher appears," said Knuckles.

"That's it. No more fortune cookies for you," said Sonic, she slicks the remote; the movie resumes.

"Hey, where'd you come from?" Sonic asked.

Wilt laughs, "Oh, the better question is, where are you going?"

"Oh, someplace wonderful, mister, where... where y—you didn't happen to catch the song I sang a few minutes ago, did ya?" Sonic asked, earnestly.

"I didn't have the pleasure," Wilt answered.

"To recap: I want to live in some beautiful place, _outside_... a carefree place where I don't have to hide or worry."

Wilt jumps down next to Sonic, "Whoo! Hoo hoo hoo! Life without worry. You seek Hakuna Matata."

"Harpoon a tomato?" Sonic asked, very confused.

"Hakuna Matata, it means 'No Worries,'" Wilt corrected.

"Perfect! Mind taking that book of yours and drawing me a map, bub?" Wilt smacks him over the head with his red, white, and blue ball, "Ow! Hey!"

Wilt goes into his medating pose, "To find it, you must look _beyond_ what you see."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, look beyond what you see!"

"Beyond what I see," Sonic began to imitate Wilt's voice, "Ha. Get a load of the monkey, gettin' all existential on me. Beyond what I see," he sees a frog croaking on a rock, "Hmm... Beyond what I see," pans over to a tree stump a little farther away, "Beyond what I see," pans to a tree in the distance, "It's kinda hard to think with all this music. Beyond... what I see..." suddenly he focuses in on Toon Castle in the far distance, "Oh, wait a second. It's comin' to me. It's either that slug I ate or I'm having an epiphany! I'm going to the big toony-looking mansion! Right?" Sonic turns around, but Wilt is gone.

"Who was that strange imginary friend?" Sonic asked, "Ah, well. Dream home, here we come." Sonic marches off in the direction of Toon Castle. He enter a stand of tall grasses. A snapping sound startles them as Sonic clings.

"Ah... oh-h... hello? Strange but wise imginary?" Sonic asked.

A flock of birds takes off and startles them again. He climb up on a rock; then he heard a weird grunting roar, and see a bulky shape rushing in their direction. Sonic tumble off the rock and rushes blindly through the grass as the ominous roaring sound pursues them, "Oh! Oh! Aah!" Sonic crashes into a echidna, wearing a white gloves and yellow and green shoes with silver bloc on top, blocking their path. The two began to scream, one by one. Sonic pauses the movie.

"You know, first impressions are very important" said Knuckles.

"Oh, I thought you were a scream," Sonic added, the move resumes.

Sonic and the echidna kept screaming. "Just eat us now... and please make it fast. I got a low threshold for pain," said Sonic.

"Easy, easy there, little guy. I'm not gonna eat you," said the echidna.

"What? You're not?" Sonic asked, indignant, "Then why were you stalking me?"

"Well, gee, I saw you go by and I figured a person like you shouldn't be out here all alone," the echidna replied.

"Hey, what about you? You're all alone," Sonic suddenly apprehensive, "You _are_ all alone, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Most animals give me a pretty wide berth," the echidna replied, ruefully.

Sonic sees the seeds of an idea, "They do? Even the hungry ones?"

"Yeah, I drive almost everyone away. People see me comin' and they run for cover. They can't get out of the way fast enough."

Sonic is holding up one of the echidna's hands, playing with it like a pair of scissors, "You don't say, you don't say. Must be the gleam on those nice tools, huh? Strikes fear into their hearts."

"Actually, they say I wreck their appetite,"

Sonic is scheming, "Wow, it's like you have this—this... special power."

The echidna backed away, nervously, "Special power? Well, i-it's pretty powerful, all right."

"Perfect! You're hired," said Sonic.

"Great! ...For what?"

"To get us to a little worry-free haven out of that big toony-looking castle," Sonic pointed at the cave.

"And... you want me to come with you?"

"Ha ha! Do you see any other big lovable chunk of echidna here, who also happens to have razor-sharp knuckles and the ability to repel predators?" Sonic grins.

"I'm your echidna."

"You and me, I can tell... we see eye to eye."

"You mean, like friends?"

"Whoa, easy there, big fella. I'd say more like…acquaintances."

"Oh," the echidna feels disappointed, "Well, it's a start."

"Put 'er there, acquaintance," Sonic and the bobcat shook hands, "I'm Sonic."

"Knuckles the Echidna," said Knuckles.

"No, really," said Sonic, Knuckles grins sincerely at him, "All right then. Let's hit the road."

"You got it... _acquaintance_," said Knuckles.

"So clear up one thing for us. If you weren't gonna eat us, what kind of a wacky wild echidna are you?" Sonic asked.

"I'm an insectivore," Knuckles replied.

"Oh ho! A bug eater! Well, us too. I just never had a name for it. We're kinda partial to the crawly critters ourselves. How about you, big boy?" Sonic asked.

"I prefer the ones with wings."

"Knuckles, this could be the start of a beautiful... acquaintanceship."


	5. Chap5: Knuckles' Special Power

**Chapter 5**

**Knuckles' Special Power**

The sunrise begins, from the prologue.

MS: _**Nants ingonyama bagithi baba**_

BS: _**Sithi uhhmm ingonyama**_

Sonic and Knuckles enter the scene, walking across the sunrise from left to right.

"Okay, so now we're back at the beginning. Right, Sonic?" Knuckles asked

"Oh, you got that right, pally," Sonic narrated, "At last, things were looking up. I had the sun on my shoulders, the wind at my heels, a song in my heart." The two freaked out as the people and animals all bear down on them and they screamed. They raced out from under all the roaring and screeching animals as they rush past.

"And to protect us, a great big fat guy!" said Sonic.

Knuckles pauses the move at the silhouettes; he looked shocked, "You really think I look fat?"

"Oh, Knuckles, Knuckles, Knuckles. You're a echidna. It's a compliment!" Sonic replied.

"Oh-ho-ho. Thank you!" Knuckles mollified. Knuckles resumes the movie. Toon Castle rises before the two of them as the crest a small hill; a deep ghostly wail roar sounds.

FS: _**It's the Circle of Life  
And it moves us all...**_

"Whoo-hoo! There it is the toon-looking mansion! Oh, baby, we're almost there," said Sonic. A record-needle scratching sound accompanies them screeching to a halt as the suddenly see that Toon Castle is surrounded by hundreds of people and animals.

"I think we're a little late," said Knuckles.

"It's a land rush. That loudmouth imginary friend! He must've blabbed it to the whole world!" Sonic shouted.

"What exactly did he say?" Knuckles asked.

"Look beyond what you see," Sonic replied, imitating Wilt.

"So maybe you're supposed to look _beyond_ the toon-looking castle," Knuckles explained.

'Maybe I'm supposed to look beyond the toon-looking castle!' Sonic thought.

"Hmm?" Knuckles asked.

"Well... let's have a little look, shall we? Beyond what I see... beyond what I see... beyond what I see..." said Sonic. The camera pans past Toon Castle (where Wilt is carrying Tails to the tip of the promontory) and all the gathered animals to a small hill with a little cave in it right behind the Cave, "The imginary friend's got an eagle eye for real estate!"

"Sonic, look!" Knuckles indicating the impending ceremony.

"He-he-hey! It's the imginary friend!" said Sonic.

"What's that he's holdin' up?" Knuckles asked.

"Aw, who cares? It's not important. Come on! My dream home awaits," said Sonic. They approach the gathering of animals from behind, rising in front of them like a wall. Knuckles nervously shrinks back away from them, "Uh... I don't do so well in crowds. Maybe we better go around."

"Don't you know the shortest distance between me and my dream home is a straight line? Follow us!" said Sonic as he leads Knuckles straight into the breach.

"Oh," said Ben Tennyson.

"Excuse us!" said Sonic.

"Ow!" Rika yelled

"Hello!" Ulrich shouted.

"Goodness!" Edd added.

"Make room, make room. Watch it, Carebear. I'm walkin' here!" said Sonic.

"Carebear?! Well, I never!" Flippy snapped. People and animals snort and glower at them as the push their way through the crowd. Suddenly, Knuckles starts to lose his temper; he sits down in "emergency" mode, "Uh, Sonic? There's something I have to tell you."

"Knuckles, Knuckles, Knuckles. We'll have a plenty of time to chat once we settle in," said Sonic. Knuckles begins to panic, "I could really use a rest stop."

Sonic tries to get him back on track, "Don't worry. You'll get your second wind."

"Ohh! I got a really bad feeling!" Knuckles breaks into sweat.

"It'll pass. Trust me! It'll pass," said Sonic. Suddenly, Knuckles begin to lose his temper! He begins to punches and beat up every single crowd. Lastly, he knocks Dash down.

"Look, Dash is bowing," said Kwan.

"We'd better bow, too!" Brad added; she and the other jocks bowed, follow by the Happy Tree Friends in front of them, then more of the people and animals all laid out in splendid array as they seen from the perspective of Danny, Wilt, and Donald at the tip of the promontory.

"Look, sire, how they kneel before the royal son," said Donald. Knuckles and Sonic stand at the epicenter as Knuckles calms down.

"So, I guess that's your special power, huh? What a weapon!" Sonic shouted, very impressed.

"Uh, you mean, you don't mind?" Knuckles asked.

"Are you kidding it was some Temper Lose-Fight!" Sonic laughed.

"Well, I don't like to lose my temper like Donald Duck…" said Knuckles, with his spirits rise a little.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Sonic paused for the beat, "Let's go, Knuckles."

"Lead the way!" Knuckles added. The group wind their way through the prostrate people and animals as the beams of sunlight fall on Tails high atop the promontory above them. Later on, they made it to Sonic dream home.

"This is it, buddy-boy. Home sweet home! And I don't gotta share it with anybody. Ha ha ha!" Sonic laughed.

"Don't you get, you know, lonely out here?" Knuckles asked.

"Lonely? Try commitment-free," Sonic ties up three hammocks for him and lay down, "The elbow-to-elbow life reminds me a little too much of home. This place has everything. Cool refreshments," Knuckles hands him a massive bowl of slush, "cozy little hammock, a lovely water feature—and it's all mine."

"Oh…" Knuckles takes in the fact that he's not being factored in; tries to handle it bravely, "Well... it's really coming together, Sonic, so, uh, so I guess I'll just be going," he walks off slowly.

"Wait a minute, now wait-wa-wait. There's no _law_ that says you _have_ to go. I mean, if you want…" said Sonic.

Knuckles zipped back, quickly, "Ooh, great! I already made up four beds!" The camera shows the two grass beds, one much bigger than the other medium size for Sonic, "One for you and one for me!"

Sonic yawns luxuriantly as he got into their beds, "Ohh! Gee, all this construction work has me bushed. Think I'll turn in early," he crawls over the smaller bed and makes himself comfortable in the larger, Knuckles-sized bed, "Oh yeah."

Knuckles circles around twice, then somehow stuffs himself into the smaller bed. A leg pops out sideways, but he gets comfortable anyway, "Good night."

"Sleep tight," Sonic said.

"Dream of bedbugs tonight," Knuckles added. They all fell asleep. Dissolve to the exterior of the cave; camera trucks out slowly as the scene gradually switches to daylight.

"Home sweet home indeed," Sonic narrated.


	6. Chapter 6: Sonic's Dream Home

**Capter 6**

**Sonic's Dream Home**

Sonic and Knuckles are sleeping as daylights stream in. Sonic is awakened gradually by the muffled sound of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" pounding in from above; he woke up, groaning, and gets up fetches a long stick, and uses it to bang on the ceiling, "Hey, keep it down up there!"

Knuckles woke up, "We have neighbors? We should go say hello."

"Noisy neighbors. There go the property values," said Sonic. As they emerge from the cave, they find themselves in the middle of the ostentatious finale of the song, with the people and animals forming a huge pyramid with Tails and Erin on top.

Tails: _**Standing in the spotlight!**_

Chorus: _**Let every creature go for broke and sing  
Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing  
It's gonna be King Jake's finest fling**_

_**Oh, I just can't wait to be king!  
Oh, I just can't wait to be king!**_

"Oh, perfect. We moved to the theater district! Get a load of these guys," Sonic thwacks Naruto with a stick, "Knock it off!"

Naruto's eyes pop wide open and he loses his balance; one by one, all the rest of the people and animals collapse on top of and around him.

_**Oh, I just can't wait...**_

"Sonic look out!" Knuckles snatched Sonic out of the way of the impending disaster.

_**To be king!**_

The pyramid of people and animals collapses on top of the cave opening, the group inside.

"I'm okay!" said Tails.

"Oy. Phew. Show people," said Sonic. Later, the group moves on to an unspecified location. "Chin up, guys," Sonic brushes the branch aside, "Whoa! Our dream home's around here somewhere."

"You know, Sonic, I once came across a place that might be just what you're looking for," Knuckles explained, "Spectacular waterfalls, set in a lush tropical oasis. A scrumptious array of…"

Sonic interrupted, "Hey, hey, hey. Forget it, Knuckles. I'm a realist, and I'm not gonna go chasing after some fantasy. We're going to look beyond what we see."

"But if you always go beyond what you see, how do you know when you're there?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic got impatient, "Oh, I'll tell you how I know. We're there!" gestures stubbornly at the surroundings: the Skeleton Graveyard, "This is a lovely spot. Lovely. Rustic. Picturesque. Home sweet home, Knuckles. Mm-hmm. Home sweet ho…" A chunk of a skull that he's leaning against gives way, and he collapses inside, "Aah! Whoop! Ah ha ha ha! I—I mean, sure... it needs a little work. But it's got good bones. Ha ha ha! After all... this is an skeleton graveyard. And who would ever come to an elephant graveyard? ...Aaaahh!"

A roar precedes the arrival of Danny Phantom, leaping over the skeleton where the group had been, before diving out of the way just in time. As Danny rushes off stage left, Donald flies after him, briefing him on the situation.

"Sire, the villains are after the children!" Donald shouted.

The group watches wide-eyed from the sinus cavity of the log, as the shadows cast on them pantomime the scene of Danny beating up the bad guys.

"I see ghosts," Sonic whispered. Later on, Sonic on yet another search for the perfect home. He's going stir-crazy by now. They're moving through the thermal-vent area where Chase lives.

"Beyond what'cha see... beyond what'cha see... Ha ha ha ha ha! Beyond what you see..." Sonic said in a nervous reek.

"Uh, Sonic? Would this be a bad time to bring up that little place I told you about?" Knuckles asked. Sonic throws herself down on a steam vent, "Hey! This is home sweet home, baby! Home…" the steam vent erupts, sending Sonic into the air, "Aaaah! Ow! Ha ha!" Sonic's on the verge of cracking, "Steam! Ha ha! Steam is good. Steam is—is—is water. Whoo! Gotta have water. You know, for the dream home. Steam home, dream home! Steam, steam, steam," he gets a hold of her affects a British accent briefly, "I am perfectly happy r-r-right here. It's remote, private, no unexpected visitors..."

A green light suddenly floods the area, and "Be Prepared" begins. Goose-stepping villains march past them, casting shadows on the wall.

"Somethin' tells me this ain't the traveling company of 'Riverdance,'" said Sonic. They pause for a beat, then hop to their feet and "Riverdance" away. Later on, again, they moved on.

"Beyond what you see... beyond what you," Sonic turns toward the camera, shudders, "Uhh-h. Hey, how am I supposed to look beyond what I see, beyond _that_?" Camera reveals he's looking straight at Knuckles' tail.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," said Knuckles, he moves aside to reveal the Gorge in its entire splendor.

Sonic trudging along the parched floor of the Gorge, "What this place lacks in water and shade, it makes up for with searing heat and blinding sunshine. Home sweet home, Knuckles!" Sonic whimpers a little with desperation, just as the ground begins to rumble. Birds flock into the air from the gorge's rim; wildebeest begin to pour over the edge and down into the valley floor. They rapidly approach the group in a massive stampede.

"Shall we run for our lives?" Knuckles asked, affecting a gracious, leisurely air.

"Oh, yes, let's," Sonic replied, affecting the same air. They all scream and take off running in front of the huge herd of wildebeests. They end up on top of one wildbeest's head, then they see the herd separate before them to reveal a cliff's edge.

"Hang on, Sonic!" Knuckles shouted.

"This is it!" Sonic screamed, "Good-bye, cruel world!" The wildbeest screeches to a halt at the edge of the cliff, pitching the group off in slow motion, screaming. After a few midair tumbles, they land lightly in a slow-moving river.

"That's it?" Sonic scoffs, "That wasn't so bad. You can't knock old Sonic down that easy! Yeah. Bring it on!" He notices an increasing roar of rushing water, and sees that they're approaching the top of a waterfall, "Uh, Knuckles? Question: is it possible to fall off the edge of the Earth?"

"Uh, technically, no. The Earth is round like a sphere, Sonic, so it doesn't actually _have_ an edge," Knuckles answered. The camera pulls back once, twice, three times to reveal an absurdly high waterfall. The two screams as they hurtle over the edge. Right in the middle of the fall, Knuckles pauses the movie; back to the silhouettes.

"You mind if I pause it for a second?" Knuckles asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Sonic replied.

"Be right back!" said Knuckles. Sonic cracks his neck one way and then the other, grunting. As Knuckles clatters off-screen, Sonic scratches in his ear, sniffs, hums "It's a Small World After All", and casually picks his nose. Just as the sound of a popcorn popper comes to a stop, Sonic pulls out a big booger, which squishes between his fingertips. He gasps as he realizes Knuckles are coming back. He frantically looks for a tissue; seeing none, he tries to shake it off his hand, then to flick it off. Finally he wipes it on the seat just as Knuckles' returns, with a huge bag of bugs.

"Okay, I got the jumbo so we could share," Knuckles pauses for a beat, as he realizes Sonic is just sitting there stock-still, "Were you just picking your nose?"

"No! I had an itch on the inside!" Sonic said, indignantly. He grabs some bugs and chows down, then clicks the remote. The movie resumes, with the group plummeting down the waterfall and screaming. During the night, Knuckles emerges from the water, gasping and wheezing; Sonic is clutching Knuckles' tail and being dragged to safety, but otherwise limp. Knuckles collapse and cough up some water. Sonic comes to and groans. They turn to face him; Sonic is lying on the beach clutching a lily in a classic death pose.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic is at the end of his rope, "Uhh. I give up!"

"But... but you can't give up! We still haven't found our dream home," said Knuckles.

"Forget it, Knuckles. I've been dragging you down long enough. I'm goin' home... and I suggest you do the same," said Sonic.

"Oh, I—I would if I could, but I can't," said Knuckles.

"Oh, sure you can, buddy. I won't stop you," said Sonic.

"No, I mean... I don't have a home," Knuckles corrected.

"You don't? What happened—are you lost?" Sonic asked, Knuckles shakes his head.

"No place good enough for you?" Sonic asked, Knuckles shakes again, "What, you're all alone in this big empty world?" Knuckles turns to face the others, with huge dewy eyes.

"Oh," Sonic gets up, "Truth is... I'm all alone too. Knuckles, you're the only friend I've ever got."

"Y-you mean..." Knuckles said, brighten up.

"Yeah, Knuckles…and friends stick together to the end," said Sonic. The two gaze at each other sniffling. Sonic's reflection appears in Knuckles' eyes as the music swells. Suddenly the movie pauses and switches back to the theater seats, where Sonic is hunched over and sobbing.

"Sonic? Are you crying?" Knuckles asked, shocked.

"I'm fine! I—I just have something in my eye," Sonic sobbed.

"Here, blow," Knuckles handed him the hanky.

"Ohh," Sonic blows his nose; hands the hanky back, "Thanks, Knuckles."

"Gee, thanks," Knuckles said sarcastically.

"Okay, I'm better," Sonic resumes the movie. Later, the four slept on the beach gradually the scene changes to daylight.


	7. Chapter 7: Hakuna Matata, Again

**Chapter 7**

**Hakuna Matata, Again**

During the daylight, the group is still sleeping, until Sonic woke up and took a stretch; he cracked his back, stretching, "Aw, well. It's too bad we never found that perfect place. Why'd we ever listen to that stupid ninja?"

Knuckles woke up, when Knuckles gasped, "I think maybe you're giving up too soon, Sonic."

Sonic sneered, "Beyond what you see…" Knuckles grabs his head and spins it around to face what he sees, "huh?"

"Remember that place I told you about?" Knuckles asked triumphantly, as he and Sonic saw the gorgeous jungle panorama: waterfalls, woods, distant mountains, lush lakes and rivers.

"Forget about _your_ place. Get a load of what _I_ found! Talk about "beyond what you see"!" said Sonic, "Knuckles, this is our dream home!"

Sonic pulling aside vines to demonstrate, "Dramatic views!" she pulled the vines for Knuckles to swing in them, "Your very own porch swing!"

The two of them relaxing in a pool which is bubbling merrily, "Hot tub and spa!" said Sonic. Sonic pulled open a tree to reveal dozens of bugs, "Well-stocked cupboard!"

Knuckles slurps up all the bugs, "Let's celebrate," he said, mouthful.

Sonic is on a vine stretched across the water as the girls sunbathe, "The imaginary friend was right. We found it: the perfect life," he dives into the water. Knuckles is wearing a chef's hat of leaves; stacking bugs on a skewer, "I'll just whip up a little something."

Sonic dries off with a leaf, "He had the perfect name for it, too."

"Come and get it!" Knuckles tossed bugs in a large leaf-bowl.

"Such a wonderful phrase. It had this rhythm," Sonic began to think, "Laduda Ladada..."

"Try this... Hot tuna frittata," Knuckles held out a leaf dish.

"Hmm... No, that's not it," Sonic said, not paying attention.

"The spinach armada."

"Quiet Knuckles, I'm trying to think," said Sonic.

"A spoon of ricotta," said Knuckles, setting out a bowl of bug-mush.

"Two words," said Sonic.

"A wormy piccata," Knuckles held another dish.

"Six syllables," Sonic added.

"Kahuna colada," Knuckles held yet another dish.

"Twelve letters," added Sonic.

"A blue enchilada."

"Rhymes with..."

"Legumes on a platter."

"Think, think, think," Sonic continues to think.

"This oughtta be hotter."

"I forget!" Sonic said, desperate.

"I gotta lambada!" Knuckles starts dancing, trotting sideways until he bumps into Sonic; his hat rolls off. Sonic grabs hold of his ears and yells, "Hey! How can you dance at a time like this? I'm dyin' here!" Sonic realized that he's gone a bit too far, he lets go and backs off, "Sorry about that, pal."

"Hakuna Matata," Knuckles said, nonchalant.

Sonic shakes his head in confusion, "Come again?"

"Hakuna Matata. It means "no worries." Eh…" Knuckles realized, "Oh…"

Wipe to the two of them swinging on vines into the water. As they're both in midair, the movie pauses.

"Hey Sonic. I got an idea. Let's do a sing along," Knuckles said, off-screen.

"Oh, you tease," said Sonic, as a ladybug appears on-screen, near the words HAKUNA MATATA which appear at the bottom, "I love karaoke! I'm there."

As the lyrics appear on the screen, over a montage of Sonic and Knuckles enjoying their carefree life, the ladybug hops from syllable to syllable as they sing the words.

All two: _**Hakuna Matata**_

_**What a wonderful phrase**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Ain't no passin' craze**_

The ladybug disappears after dancing across "CRAZE"

Sonic: _**It means no worries, for the rest of your day**_

"Wait a second," said Sonic. Camera pulls back to show the silhouettes. Tails is singing into a microphone; Knuckles is chewing and crunching on something. Sonic pauses the movie.

"Knuckles…where's the grub?" Sonic asked, quietly. Knuckles opens his mouth; the ladybug staggers out, all mauled up.

"Ohhh. You just can't help yourself, can you?" Sonic asked, exasperated.

"Sorry," Knuckles apologized.

"Okay... but this time, show a little self control," Sonic resumes the movie. The bug is now staggering across the words and getting bounced around by the pair's on-screen antics: floating down a river cascade, bungee-jumping on jungle vines, parachuting on leaves, Sonic and Knuckles slurping up a long worm and ending in a kiss as in "Lady and the Tramp", when they saw this they broke out of this and got disgust with Knuckles face green.

Sonic: _**Hakuna Matata! Ha-haah!**_

The four scream as they bungee-jump.

Sonic and Knuckles: _**It means no worries**_

_**For the rest of your days**_

_**It's our problem-free**_

_**Philosophy**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

It becomes a chant as they shuffle along the now-famous log, dancing and singing.

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Hakuna Matata  
Hakuna Matata  
Hakuna Matata  
Hakuna Matata...**_

Sudden cut to a close up to Bernie. "Hahuna Ma-what-a?" Bernie asked, taken aback.

Wilt is talking to Sonic's mother under the hedgehog's tree by the rock, "It means, 'no worries.'"

"I see…" Bernie said, skeptical.

"So, I told the boy: To find Hakuna Matata, you must look beyond what you see," Wilt explained.

"Ohh. A metaphor," Bernie understands.

"Well, actually, it's not a meta…" Wilt gets clonked in his head with his own book. Bernie is enraged, "You used a _metaphor_ on Sonic! He takes things _literally_," she panicked, "That's it. He's starving out there. I just know it! Charles! Sonic's out there chasing metaphors. I've gotta go find him!"

"Are you _nuts!_" Chuck called from inside a hole; his voice shakes the ground.

Bernie is disgusted, "Nice to have a supportive family isn't it? Well, here we go."

"Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step," Wilt said, sagely.

"Thanks. Here's _my_ first step:" said Bernie; Bernie jumps squarely onto Wilt's foot. The camera cuts to Sonic screaming instead of Wilt as Knuckles is pulling the quills out of Sonic's behind by his hands, "Guess bowling for porcupines wasn't the best idea, huh?"

"Yeah. Gotta be right up there with bobbing for snapping turtles," Sonic replied, but screams when Knuckles pulled out another quill.

"Ohh, that's gonna leave a mark," Knuckles mumbled, until he looks up at the sound of Fearow's squawking, "Hey, look, guys. Fearows! What do you say? One more round?"

Camera slowly trucks in on the scene in the desert where the buzzards are clustering around what we know to be Tails.

Sonic said sarcastically, "Oh, sure. There must be some part of me we haven't injured yet."

"Oh, please?" Knuckles asked, "Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please?"

Sonic stretched wearily, "No, guys. I'm beat. You guys go ahead; I'm callin' it a day," Sonic pulled out the last quill and screamed in pain.

"But it's no fun alone," Knuckles whimpered; he startsto sob and whine like a dog. He begins to turn away, but just then Sonic runs back, joining them, "Aw, why not? One more run won't change our lives!" The group goes charging into the desert towards the Fearows. The movie pauses just as they reach the camera.

Sonic begins narrating, "Who knows why fate led us to little Tails that day?" the scene switches, slide-show style, to Knuckles carried Tails in his arms, Sonic looking terrified, "Maybe it was just my love of adventure..." switch to Tails, in his ghost form, roaring in the jungle, Sonic leaping up in terror, "or my innate courage..." Stills show more scenes of Tails terrifying the fur off Sonic, "...my valiant and fearless way of... okay, who's in charge of the freeze-frames!" freeze on Sonic doing a freakish wild-take pinned up against a tree root.

"Sorry," Knuckles apologized.

"Anywho," Sonic continues, "Rescuing Tails was a cinch," Knuckles gathers up Tails on his arms and trots off with him back to the jungle, "Then came the _reeeally_ scary part. ...Parenthood."


	8. Chapter 8: Parenthood

**Chapter 8**

**Parenthood**

During the night, Knuckles used the stump as a bed, while Sonic uses the leaves as a bed. Knuckles kept muttering grubs during his sleep.

_**In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight  
In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Sonic?" 8-year-old Tails asked off-screen, "Sonic…? _Sonic!_"

Sonic woke up blearily; seeing Tails' face upside down, "Oh, what is it?"

"I gotta go" Tails said, agitated.

"Go? Go where?" Sonic asked.

"You know, _go_. ...Bad!" Tails exclaimed.

Sonic, suddenly understood, "Oh, _go!_ Why didn't you say so? Come on, let's go." They rush across the log, the full moon in the background, Sonic leading the way, "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

That day, Sonic and Knuckles stood there as they saw Tails high on the tree. "Young fox kid, get down from here!" Sonic yelled, sternly, "It's time for your fire training."

Tails didn't listen as he kept jumping and flying around in the branches, "Whoo-hoo! All right! Hey—you guys look like ants down there."

"I'm counting to three," said Sonic, but Tails leaps onto a smaller branch, which breaks under his weight.

"Uh oh," Knuckles didn't like this as Tails falls, silently, while Sonic counts.

"One... Two..." as Sonic counted to two, Knuckles threw himselves on top of Sonic; Tails lands safely on his arms, "Three," Sonic muffled and his arm collapse. That night, the two is asleep.

_**In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Sonic?" Tails asked.

Sonic woke up suddenly, "Oh! Again?"

Tails looking fairly pathetic, "No, I'm thirsty."

Tails and Sonic are walking across the log. "You know this means you'll be up again about two hours from now," said Sonic. That day, Tails is floating happily down a river as Sonic frantically paddles after him, "Hang on, Tails! I'll save you!" Suddenly, Tails gone over the waterfall, "Yahoooo!" Knuckles snatch Tails out of midair from an overhanging branch; Sonic goes falling past them helplessly, shrieking. At night, the two is sleeping.

"Sonic?" Tails looks even more miserable. At the log, Sonic is plodding now, slumped over, exhausted, "We're gonna get old walking across this thing."

During the day, Tails, in his ghost form, lies on his back repeatedly batting Sonic into the air like a ball of yarn; Sonic spins helplessly in midair, wailing. At night, yet again.

_**In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Sonic?" Tails asked, timid.

Sonic wakes up on edge, "What have you got against the concept of a good nights sleep, huh?" he turns to face the camera; we get a faceful of his bloodshot, staring eyes.

"Actually, I, uh... I had a bad dream," Tails corrected.

"Oh. Well, uh..." Sonic wakes up Knuckles.

Knuckles woke up, "Uhh! It wasn't me."

"Junior had a bad dream," said Sonic.

"Oh…why don't you sleep over here with us?" Knuckles asked, smiling.

Sonic pats on the bed, "Mi bed, su bed."

"All right!" Tails bounds over to them. Tails slept next to Sonic, like a brother.

_**Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling  
The lion sleeps tonight  
Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Good night," said Tails.

"Sleep tight," Sonic added.

"Dream of bedbugs tonight!" Knuckles immediately falls asleep and snores. Tails giggles; he puts a foreleg around Sonic and pulls him up tight against him like a stuffed animal.

_**My little darling  
Don't fear, my little darling  
Hey-a, oh, my little darling  
Oh, don't fear, my little darling  
Ingonyama ilele  
Don't fear, my little darling**_


	9. Chap9: Snail Slurping Contest

**Chapter 9**

**Snail Slurping Contest**

That morning, with the birds chirping and the sun rising through the trees. The three of them are still snoring, in the same pose—but Tails is now 10-years-old. He wakes, yawns, and stretches.

"Whoa! Watch where you aim that morning breath. That should come with a warning label. Whoo, what a wake-up call!" Sonic curls up and tries to go back to sleep.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the warthog. What's the matter Sonic?" Tails patronizing, "Had a little too much Hakuna Matata?"

"Sonny boy, I _invented_ Hakuna Matata," said Sonic.

Tails smug, "Oh, yeah? Well, _I_ perfected it."

"Sure you did, sure you did. Knuckles, who holds the record for the world's longest bug belch?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles woke up, "Uh, that would be Tails."

Sonic mildly surprised. "All righty then. Who's the champion at slug swallowing?" Sonic asked.

"Tails again," Knuckles replied.

Sonic bolt upright, "Cricket crunching?"

"Tails."

"Grub gulping?"

"Tails."

"Maggot munching?"

"Still Tails."

Sonic sweats in trepidation, "Snail-slurping?"

"Oh, uh, nobody. We never had a snail-eating contest before," said Knuckles. Later on, the sun creates a lens-flare wash to Tails and Sonic facing off over a monstrous pile of snails. They narrow their eyes at each other in turn; then both flex their paws like gunslingers.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," said Knuckles, hiding in the bushes.

Tails grabs a snail and slurps it straight out of its shell, leaving slime all over his chin. He slams the shell down and leers at Sonic, who yawns theatrically, then slurps down a snail of her own and folds her arms defiantly. Tails raises a hand with four snails, which he slurps down rapid-fire one after the other, then tosses the shells down and grins devilishly. Sonic stares back in amazement, his eye twitching; then he swallows four of his own, swats away the shells, and grins a trifle insanely, breathing hard.

Knuckles hid in the bushes, looking at one and then the other like in a tennis match, as we hear slurps from one side and then the other in rapid succession. Finally they sinks down in trepidation, and the camera switches back to Tails and Sonic slumped against opposite ends of the rock, only one snail left in front of each of them. In extreme perspective, Tails reaches for the last one, groans and shudders, then slurps it down; he belches loudly, then tosses the shell away with a drunken smirk. Sonic picks up his last one, his belly bulging out over the edge of the rock; the snail in his hands morphs into Knuckles, staring back at him.

"I told you this wasn't such a good idea," said Knuckles.

Sonic suddenly gags, covers his mouth, totters, and collapses; the snail shell flies up into the air, lands, clatters to a halt, and the snail inside pops out and scoots away. The camera trucks back vertically away from Sonic, passed out and bloated on the ground next to the pile of shells.

"Thus, did the pupil surpass the teacher," Knuckles narrated.

"You've been hangin' around with the imaginary friend again, haven't you?" Sonic asked. Knuckles walks slowly up to Sonic and helps him up. Sonic groaned as he watches Tails swaggering away into the trees, "Our Tails is growing up." The group stares after him for a beat.

Sonic: _**Is this the little boy I carried?**_

Knuckles: _**When did he grow to be so tall?**_

All: _**Wasn't it yesterday when he was small?**_

The background chorus takes up the song as first Sonic, then Knuckles, then a full-grown eleven year old Tails fly into the air, trampolining off a bunch of hanging vines. All three bounce into the air again, and Tails grabs the other two in a midair embrace.

Background Chorus: _**Sunrise, sunset**_

_**Sunrise, sunset**_

_**Swiftly fly the years**_

_**One season following another**_

_**Laden with happiness and tears**_

The three of them lie on their backs looking up at the stars (no doubt, discussing cosmology); dissolve to the three of them hanging from vines, Tails gently pushing the others so they swing. Finally, dissolve to all three relaxing in the bubbling hot-tub pool.

"So you see, that's why they call it a 'dung beetle,'" Knuckles explained, while relaxed as we see only half of his body.

"Eww. You don't say. And yet, still so tasty!" said Tails.

"Oh, yeah. And they're my _favorite_, too," said Knuckles.

Sonic approaches the tub, wearing a leaf around his middle. He tosses the leaf away, dabs a toe in the water, and eases himself in. Sonic slipped into the water, relaxing, "Just what the doctor ordered."

"Yep. After a long day of doing nothing, it's good to kick back," said Knuckles.

"Three pals and no worries. What more could you want?" Tails asked. They all sighed contentedly, relaxing silently for the beat.

Knuckles yawns luxuriantly and scratches himself underwater, "I'm bushed. Think I'll turn in for the night," Knuckles slowly comes out as the bubbles immediately stopped. The group gasped in horror.

"Don't panic. Knuckles made these bubbles with his tail," said Sonic. They sighed in relief and got out. At the beds, where Tails pounces on Knuckles and gives him a "noogie", then gathers the two of them on next to him.

"Sonic, it's your turn to say good night," said Knuckles.

"Good night," said Sonic.

"Sleep tight," Tails added.

"Dream of bedbugs tonight," Knuckles finished. Tails rolls over and nearly squashes Knuckles between his body and his foreleg, but Knuckles doesn't wake up. Tails' hand slips off Sonic; he sleepily reaches down and pulls it back up like a blanket. Camera trucks back as they all sleep.


	10. Chapter 10: Trouble in Paradise

**Chapter 10**

**Trouble in Paradise**

"You gotta admit, we had a pretty good thing goin' there," Sonic narrated, off-screen.

"We coulda gone on like that forever," said Knuckles.

"Except for one teeny weeny little thing we forgot to count on," Sonic added. 15-year-old Erin, wearing her uniform pinned Tails, in his ghost form, down onto the ground, pointing her spear at him.

"Erin?" Tails asked, recognizing her. Erin backed off and now recognizing him.

"How did you…?" Erin asked.

"But how did you…?" Tails asked.

"This is a disaster guys," said Sonic, hiding in the bushes, "A disaster, I tell you!"

"You mean because they've finally found each other like two soulmates joined across the years by the bonds of true love?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic patronizing, "Sweet, innocent, little Knuckles," he said in alarmed, "She's going to put a stake right through the heart of our Hakuna Matata!"

"Oh! ...Then I guess we oughtta do something." Knuckles said, unconvinced.

"And I know just what it is. Knuckles...we can't let them feel the love tonight!" said Sonic.

Later, Sonic springs into action. He whispered to Knuckles' ear; he nodded and they high five. As Tails and Erin gambol among the trees, Sonic parts the tall grasses and leans out to arch his eyebrows at the audience; he then fires a blow-dart at Erin, which sticks in her hand. Tails gallantly plucks it out and threw it aside into the bushes, where it hits Sonic, who squeals. Erin pushes under Tails' chin. Sonic screams when the dart is stuck on him.

FS: _**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

Sonic whispers his plan in Knuckles' ear, in which the word "spider" is audible; they high-five. Sonic holds up a big spider, which winks at us; Sonic lowers it like a yo-yo towards the two couples. On the way down, the spider passes a fetching female spider, and the music stops abruptly as the spider hops back up to her. The spiders weave a bunch of heart-shaped webs behind the fox and girl as they nuzzle.

_**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

"This is so romantic," Knuckles said, overcome as Sonic is wrapped up in a cocoon of spider-silk.

As Tails and Erin pass by, Sonic hurls a huge beehive at them. But the bees stay right there above him in a solid cloud; Sonic races away with the bees in hot pursuit.

_**Can you feel the love…?**_

Sonic now has several bee stings on his head, a black eye swollen shut, and (as he grins and gives the thumbs-up to the group) a missing tooth. Knuckles uncertainly returns the thumbs-up, at the other end of a long vine laid across Tails and Erin's path. The fox and girl mock-wrestle their way across it. Erin stumbles backwards over the vine as Sonic and Knuckles pull it taut.

The two collapse down the hillside, rolling all the way to the bottom, their movement flinging the group and their vine into the air and across the gully to where they plunge into a tree, disturbing a cloud of butterflies that rushes past the camera as Tails and Erin kissed in the undergrowth.

_**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

_**The peace the evening brings**_

_**The world, for once, in perfect harmony**_

_**With all its living things**_

The group falls out of the tree and crash to the ground. Knuckles got hit on the ground and whacks the side of his head, and a butterfly pops out.

"Well, _that_ worked like a dream," Sonic said, sarcastically.

"I did?" Knuckles asked.

"Sarcasm is a foreign language to you, isn't it?" Sonic pointed at Tails and Erin hugging, "Look!"

_**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

_**You needn't look too far**_

"She's making those eyes," said Sonic.

"He's smiling that smile," Knuckles added.

"They're laughing... and hugging... and—and..." Sonic couldn't take it; he and Knuckles watched Tails and Erin in their courtship routine.

Sonic: _**And if he falls in love tonight**_

_**It can be assume**_

Knuckles: _**His carefree days with us are history**_

All: _**In short our pal is doomed!**_

The two burst into wild sobbing waterworks.


	11. 11: The Storm Comes to a Head

**Chapter 11**

**The Storm Comes to a Head**

During the twilight, the duo walked dejectedly by a waterfall. "Ah, that's it, buddy. We gave it our best shot, but he's a goner," said Sonic.

Knuckles heard something in the distance, "Maybe not!"

"You never give up, do you?" Sonic asked.

"Look!" said Knuckles, while Sonic look, aghast.

"Listen: You think you can just show up and tell me how to live my life? You don't even know what I've been through!" Tails snapped.

"I would if you just tell us!" Erin snapped back.

"Forget it!"

"Fine!"

As Tails storms off, the group watches from the sidelines. "Knuckles, do you know what this means?" Sonic asked, very excited.

"Uh, he can't express his feelings, and she has commitment issues?" Knuckles replied.

"We won! Ya ha hahh! We split 'em up!" said Sonic.

"And, uh, that's a good thing?" Knuckles asked, while he follows his friend out into the grasslands, where Tails is wrestling with himself, "Uh, he seems to be taking it kinda hard."

"Yeah, I know. Look, I...heh. But it's the best thing for us. I mean, for him!" said Sonic, the clouds gather on the horizon; as Sonic turns away, they form into the face of Danny Phantom, "Oh, let's go guys. I think this storm's coming to a head."

Later on, the group tucked themselves in to rest for the night. "Hakuna Matata is safe at last, pal, 'cause nothing's gonna take our boy away now," said Sonic, later he looks aghast, "He's _gone?_ What do you mean, he's _gone?_"

"It's just like the imginary friend said. The king has returned," Erin replied. The group just stood there looking completely dumbfolded. Erin sighs exasperatedly, "Ohh. You want me to go over it _again?!_"

Sonic patronizing, "Yes, please. But be a dear and just skip to the part about Tails? Not that your childhood wasn't _fascinating_."

Erin resigned, "Okay, look: Sonic's the rightful King. But after he disappeared, Chase Young proclaimed himself the King and formed an alliance with the villains..."

While she continues, Knuckles thought with a concerned expression, 'Poor Tails…The treachery... the villainy... the sheer indescribable horror!'

'Blah, blah, blah. Why is she toying with us? Oh, this crazy chick is gonna eat us!' Sonic thought with a concerned expression.

"…Tails has to go home to challenge his uncle and reclaim his rightful place as King," Erin finished when she stares at the duo, who stand there silently as crickets chirp.

Erin got frustrated, "Ooooh, don't you get it? Tails _needs_ us! _Now!_" They turn and runs off after Tails.

Sonic indignant, "He needs us? Then he shouldn't have left us! If he wants to run off to be "His Highness", well, I say, don't let the branches hit you on the way out! Leave Hakuna Matata to someone who appreciates it," he strides off stubbornly.

"But, Sonic…it's not really Hakuna Matata without Tails," said Knuckles.

"What's gotten into you? Not Hakuna Matata? That's crazy talk. Crazy talk, I tell ya! Nothing's changed here. We had Hakuna Matata before Tails, and we've still got it now," said Sonic.

"We gotta help our friend, Sonic."

"_Et tu, Knuckles_? You're just gonna walk away, give up on all this? What happened to 'friends stick together to the end'? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Knuckles replied, incisively.

Knuckles turns and stalks off. He looks back over his shoulder to see Sonic flopping down in the bed, "I got everything I ever wanted right here," Sonic said, stubbornly. Knuckles turns and trots off, a tear in his eye.

Sonic lies in the bed, tapping his toe. He begins to soliloquize to convince himself he's doing the right thing, "Now, this is more like it. Elbow room!" 'Elbow room' echoes an absurd number of times as the camera pulls back repeatedly; Sonic collapses in despair, "Uhhhh. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy," he tries to sing to cheer himself up; scene switches to various places where the trio used to hang out, "Hakuna Matata... what a wonderful phrase..." he sang, weakly, "Hakuna...Matata..." now pathetically, "ain't no passing craze... it means... unnghh... No Worries," Sonic curls up in the indentation where he used to watch the stars; the other two indentations are empty. Suddenly, Wilt came into the picture, laughing.

Sonic held out his hands in rejection, "You. No, no, no. Don't say a word. I know what you're gonna say," Sonic imitates Wilt, "Did you find Hakuna Matata?" Sonic said to himself with forced happiness and that gracious air, "Well, yes, I did! Thank you very much! And I am happy... happy, happy, _deliriously_ happy," imitating Wilt, "Ho ho haaah! I see. Happy, is it? So, if you're so happy, why do you look so miserable?" Sonic switches back to himself; Wilt stares sardonically at the camera, "Miserable, you say? Why should I be miserable? Oh, I don't know. Maybe my four best pals in the world deserted me. Heh. They've... they've headed off on some heroic mission. My friends..." Sonic turns despairing, "are gone," Sonic saw the light, "...And my Hakuna Matata went with them," Wilt nods slowly, smiling. Sonic indicates his head, "Would you mind?" Wilt smacks him with his stick, "Ay! Thanks! I'm glad we had this talk," Sonic clicks his tongue; rushes off.

"My work here is done," said Wilt.


	12. 12:Friends Stick Together To The End

**Chapter 12**

**Friends Stick Together To The End**

During the sunset, Knucklesrun in slow motion across the desert sands, frame-for-frame exactly how Tails ran. Suddenly, Sonic dashes at normal speed past the slow-motion group; they skids to a stop in confusion. Sonic stops and looks back at him with humility. Knuckles looks at him questioningly.

"Friends stick together till the end," said Sonic, Knuckles gasps joyfully; he rush and embrace, sobbing. Sonic paused the movie back at the silhouettes.

"What was with the running? If you call this 'running,'" said Sonic.

"We were giving you time to catch up," Knuckles replied.

Sonic choked up, "Aw, you big lug." The two embraced, while Sonic resumes the movie.

"Let's go, buddy. We got a fight to catch!" said Knuckles.

"Let's whip some grass!" said Sonic. The two ran in high speed toward the dark and drought-ravaged Cartoon Kingdom.

"This is the stuff of legends. An epic struggle—the place where heroes are born. Knuckles...this could be our finest hour," Sonic narrated.

Hawaiian drums sound; cut to Sonic in drag, doing the "Hawaiian War Dance."

Sonic: _**Luau!**_

_**If you're hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat**_

_**Eat my buddy Knuckles here because he i…**_

Sonic pauses the movie, "Let's just cut to the chase, shall we?"

"Oh sure," Knuckles replied. Cut to the group screaming and fleeing before a pack of hunger-mad villains. The two led the villains over a rise and into a cave, screaming. Silence falls as the villains search for them inside the cave, holding for a beat.

"What the…" said Jack. A fighting sound with clouds came inside the cave. The bad guys flee the cave in a panic. The two emerge triumphantly.

"I love the smell of Anger of Knuckles in the morning," said Sonic. Suddenly the ground begins to crumble under their feet.

"Hey, hey, hey. Move your tush, honey!" Bernie shouted from underground. Knuckles skips out of the way of the newly opened hole; Bernie and Uncle Chuck are standing in it.

"Mom? Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked, astonished.

"Oh, Sonic!" said Bernie.

"Sonic?" Charles asked, floored.

"What are you doing here?" Sonic asked.

"Looking for you," Bernie replied, then embraced Sonic, "Aww, Mommy's here." Pause for a beat while Chuck glowers disapprovingly and fingers the flower in Sonic' hair; Sonic grins sheepishly. Chuck grumbles under his breath.

"Well, let me introduce you to my best friend," as Sonic introduce to his family, Knuckles gasps at a sight beyond them, "Aah! Look there's Tails! And that must be his uncle Chase Young!"

Viewpoint switches to show the confrontation between Tails and Chase at the tip of the promontory about to take place; Tails is being backed toward the precipice.

"Oh, good, they're talking things out. Which is how it should be. You know, I have a feeling everything's gonna be just fine," Sonic turns away from the scene. Lightning strikes the base of Toon Castle, igniting the brush, just as Tails slips off the tip of the rock, barely holding on. Sonic winces, "On the other hand…"

"The villains are up there protecting Chase. What do we do?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, I've got a plan," Sonic replied.

"How can we help?" Bernie asked.

"Mom, Uncle Chuck: You're going to dig a trap. We're going to need—dare I say it?—tunnels... lots and lots of tunnels. And Knuckles, you and me... we've gotta get those punks away from Tails," Sonic explained.

Knuckles wagged his tail, barely suppressing his excitement, "Ooh, ooh! And lure them into the trap?"

"Oh yeah! Nothing gets past you. Come on, gang. Let's ride," said Sonic, as he and Knuckles ran off.

"Y'know, something's different about Sonic..." Bernie said, reflective.

"You think?" Chuck shouted in frantic, "He's wearing a dress!"


	13. Chapter 13: Villains in the Hole

**Chapter 13**

**Villains in the Hole**

Chase Young is away from Tails, with the villains chasing after, while sparks from the fire fly all around. They all wind their way to an area near the top of Tonn Castle, where the villains corner Tails, who snarls at them. Sonic and Knuckles looks down on them from a ledge above them.

Sonic shouted enough for the villains to hear, "Hey Knuckles, what do you call a villain with half a brain?"

Knuckles laughed, but stopped, "Uh beats me, Sonic. What?"

"Gifted!" Sonic replied and he and Knuckles laughed; Cree and Jack Spicer scow, but Pete laughed, until Jack smack him, "They're talking about us!"

Cree menaced, advancing on them, "For your last meal, you're gonna eat those words!"

The two grinned from the ledge above; suddenly they both zip away, leaving dust clouds in their own shapes that linger for a few moments. They scream as they run down the side of Toon Castle, until they reach a tunnel entrance.

"Mom, I think we got their attention!" Sonic shouted.

"Not yet! Keep stalling!" Bernie shouted from the underground as Chuck kept digging and she carried support beams. Above, the duo backed up against a rock wall and illuminated by the red firelight.

"Okay…" Sonic panicked; he begins juggling sticks and dishes, while Knuckles gestures toward him and grins. The villains stop dead, bewildered.

"You gotta be kidding me," Jack said, nonplussed. Sonic stands with the dishes balanced on the sticks on his nose and hands, spinning.

"Now, Mom?" Sonic asked, panicking.

"Need more time, honey!" Bernie shouted from underground. The two link arms and dance, grinning tensely, doing the cancan. The music peters out as the villains glare at them and look insulted.

Sonic grasped at straws, "Uh…freestyle!" Hip-hop music plays as the group starts breakdancing. The villains laugh and applaud.

"Ooh, encore, encore!" Cree shouted.

"No, no, no. You mean 'entrée, entrée,'" said Pete.

"No, you right. Let's just eat 'em," Cree, Jack, and Pete advance on them.

"Is it ready, Mom?!" Sonic asked at the edge of his wits.

"Not yet! Keep stalling!" Bernie shouted from underground. Sonic nervously drums his fingertips together, chatters his teeth, and bites his nails as the villains approach with sinister laughter. Sonic gets an idea; he waves his arms in a "time-out" signal.

"Waaait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second," Sonic approached the villains.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic theatrically, down on one knee, proposal-style, "Cree Abigail Jaqualina Lincoln…would you do me the honor of becoming... my bride?" The villains are dumbfounded; Knuckles gulps, his mouth falling wide open.

Cree pauses for a beat before responding, "I don't think so!"

Sonic milked it, "Cree Abigail, please. I know what you're thinking: 'We're too different.' 'It'll never work.' 'What will the children look like?"" Knuckles is still frozen with shock, mouth wide open.

Cree said in disgust, "Ooh, that violates _so_ many laws of nature."

Sonic is backing up against the wall, "Listen to me! The problems of a couple of wacky kids like us don't amount to hill of termites in this nutty circle-of-life thing. And so I ask you: If not now, when? If not me, who?" he said in miserably; pleading, "I'm lonely."

Knuckles tapped Sonic on the shoulder; sniffling, putting the best face on his shattered emotions, "Can I be your best man?"

"I say we skip the wedding, and go straight to the buffet!" Jack said. The villains draw near; Bernie pops up from the hole, "Now?"

"Sure, if you're ready," Sonic replied, nonchalant.

Bernie noticed the villains, "Oh!" she drops back down into the hole; calls to Chuck, "Now, Charles, now!"

Charles kicks out one of the tunnel supports, which falls and takes out the rest in a series, like dominoes, "Villains in the hole!" The ground under the villains crumbles and collapses; they back off, yelping, as the crack follows them rapidly. The crack suddenly stops expanding as one of the supports hits an embedded rock and doesn't fall. The villains stop retreating, and look back at the gang angrily. Bernie and Chuck pop out of the hole.

"I need help. It didn't work," said Chuck.

"Hey, it works for me!" said Jack, approaching, again. Bernie and Chuck are backed up against the rock wall.

"What are we gonna do?" Bernie asked, panicked.

Sonic first looks terrified; then he looks at the ground under the bad guys, noticing where the crack ends up. He steels himself, then runs headlong at Cree, aiming between her legs. Lightning flashes as Bernie yells after him.

"What?!" Cree gasped.

"Sonic, no!" Bernie shouted. Sonic dives into the crack and rushes along it, pursued by the villains' growls and snapping teeth. He makes it past, and the villains lose interest in him, focusing back on Knuckles, Bernie, and Uncle Chuck; the hedgehogs hug each other in terror as Knuckles backed up.

"Let's get them!" Cree ordered. Sonic dives for the last tunnel support; it crumbles on impact. The villains leap for their victims; Knuckles, Bernie, and Uncle Chuck gasp and steel themselves as lightning flashes. As Cree lands right in front of them, however, the ground gives way, followed by the whole ledge area collapsing into a huge crater, swallowing all the villains' whole. The villains slide through a huge subterranean tunnel complex, screaming, until they disappear into the darkness. Camera switch to the peak of Toon Castle, where Tails is just hurling Chase Young over the edge; Chase crashes down the cliff face, passing the group as they watch.

"I'd say Chase is down and out," Knuckles said, with finality.

"We did it. We did it!" Chuck shouted with triumphed.

Bernie is consumed with worry; shaking Chuck by the chest hair, "Where's Sonic? Where's my baby? He's hurt!" she flings Chuck away, "Oh, no! Oh, no! He's dead!" She grabs Knuckles by the nose and slams him to the ground, looking downright insane, "Or _worse!_ W-we gotta find him. We've gotta find him!"

Sonic emerges from the hole, "It's okay, Mom."

Bernie grabs Sonic and shakes him, "Oh, please. It is not okay! Don't you tell me it's okay!" she recognized him; gasping, "Sonic!" she embraces him in a bear hug, "My son…my hero!" Bernie reaches up as though to comb his hair, but catches herself; she looks at her hands in embarrassment.

Sonic lowered his head, "You missed a spot," Bernie combs it and dusts him off.

"That's so beautiful!" Chuckn overcome, crying, and grabs Sonic, hugging him tightly around his neck.

"Choking... Not breathing..." said Sonic.


	14. Chapter 14: Promised Land

**Chapter 14**

**Promised Land**

That rainy night, washing over the cleansed Toon Castle. Thunder crashes as the camera pans down the rock face; Wilt gestures to Tails to take his place as King. Before he starts up the slope, Tails turns aside to Sonic and Knuckles, who bow formally to him.

Tails embracing them, "I couldn't have done it without you guys," he starts to march up the promontory.

"That's our boy," said Knuckles, proudly, but not a little wistfully.

"Ohh... I promised myself I wasn't gonna cry," Sonic began to cry. Tails roars with his ghostly wail at the tip of the promontory; the group looks up at him flush with pride as the rest of the everyone roars and cheers back. Chuck and Bernie. The hedgehogs and Knuckles all share a look.

"You've really come a long way, sweetie. Did you find what you were looking for?" Bernie asked, impressed.

"I found a place that was beyond my wildest dreams. But... it still wasn't home," Sonic replied, taking Bernie's hand, "Let's go home, guys." Later on, Sonic is now showing it off to his mom.

"Whoa," said Bernie.

"Welcome to our new home... a predator-free environment," said Sonic.

"I gotta hand it to you, Sonic. This place has everything," said Bernie.

"Well, now that we're all here, it does," said Sonic. In the inner jungle, Chuck is leading a group of hedgehogs in a session of tai-chi.

"Crane... spreads its wings... Turns, with dainty hands..." said Chuck. Later, the hedgehogs arrayed along the edge of a pool, arms all upraised; one by one they dive into the water as they sing.

Foxes: _**Digga tunnah,  
Dig, dig a tunnah  
Never gonna dig another tunnah  
Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah  
Never more the villain come!**_

A chorus line of butterfly wings are swept out of the way; Sonic dances and cavorts with a Carmen Miranda-esque hat of colorful bugs.

_**Sing the praises of brave Sonic  
Bravest fox we've ever known**_

Chuck relaxes in the vine hammock with a drink, while bugs fall all around. Hedgehogs and Knuckles take turns on the trampoline.

_**Never dreamed he'd help Jake shine**_

Knuckles: _**Proved it's cool to hang out with echinda!**_

A line of hedgehogs fish for bugs under a log.

Hedgehogs: _**Accidentally saved the day**_

Sonic: _**Planned it so it would look that way!**_

Hedgehogs: _**And brought us out of the dirt and sand  
Led his family to the Promised Land**_

_**Sing the praises of brave Sonic  
Bravest fox we've ever known!**_


	15. Chapter 15: Certain Call

**Chapter 15**

**Curtain Call**

"Well, that's it. The big wrap-up, the happy ending, the grand finale," Sonic narrated back at the theater seats.

"It's over already?" Knuckles whispered.

"Well, Knuckles. That's the thing about endings. They come at the end," Sonic replied.

"Ooh, can we watch it again?" Knuckles asked, excited.

"Knuckles, we just saw it. Maybe tomorrow," Sonic replied. Bernie entered the theater, "Hey, what are you guys doing?" she gasps as she seen the screen, "You didn't tell me you were watching the movie! I wanna watch too!"

"Mom, we just finished. Show's over," said Sonic.

"Well, you're just gonna have to rewind it!" Bernie grabs Knuckles' remote and begins rewinding.

"Mom!" Sonic said, pained.

"Charles! We're gonna watch the movie!" Bernie called.

"Oh no," Sonic groaned.

Chuck entered the theater, carrying the popcorn, "Hey, I brought extra butter."

Tails entered, "Hey, you guys are watching the movie?" Tails asked.

"Any story worth telling is worth telling twice," Wilt came in. The silhouette of Carly walks in and sits down.

"What the…" said Sonic.

"Hey, Cmara. Mind if I sit with you?" Naruto asked.

"Sure Naruto," Carly replied, blushing. The members of the F.A.F. came in, including DarkMagicianmon and Hikari. Breaker came in and sat with Shelby, "Hey babe, looks like it's my lucky day…"

Shelby's boyfriend, Jose, slugged Breaker, "Quit flirting with my girl!" Jose sat next to Shelby.

"Breaker, you're a moron," said Luster, relaxing in the seat.

"Who is _this_ crowd?" Sonic asked.

Cosmo, Wanda and their son, Poof flies in and sits down in the middle, followed by Crash, Coco and Crunch. Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Namine, Riku are also seated in this row.

"Hey, down in front!" Sonic shouted.

In another row, the Happy Tree Friends are sitting; Daxter jumps head to head, until he gets to a vacant seat.

"What did you do that for?!" Handy snapped. In still another row, Ratchet and Clank sit at opposite ends of the row; Spyro flies in, followed by Sparx. The Xiaolin Dragons and Jack Spicer all pile in, shouting. Switch to Sonic's row, where he's holding two large bodies apart to keep them from squashing him.

"Watch it!" Sonic shouted, straining.

Sonic's row has Ben 10, Cynder, Dani, the Powerpuff Girls, Digimon Tamers, Yin, Yang and Yo. Ben and Dani squeeze together, and Sonic squirts out from between them like a watermelon seed. He lands next to Knuckles as the movie, still rewinding, nears the beginning.

"Okay, buddy, you win," Sonic resigned.

"Sure you don't mind?" Knuckles asked.

"Hakuna Matata," Sonic sincere.

"Shh," said Ben and Dani.

"Sorry," Breaker apologized.

"Uh Sonic…" Knuckles said as the screen goes black, "I still don't do so well in crowds."


End file.
